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The Comic Book Thread

Mods, if this thread becomes popular enough, mind making it the "Official" Comicbook Tread?

Lately my taste in Japanese media has been dying (bar video games) so I brought it up while taking to my friend. She said her taste in it has died too but she has filled the void with an interest in American comics. I took her advice and went to my local comic shop and reinvigorated my love for comic books which has caused me to make this thread. Anyways, here are Spoiler:- Da Rules:

Well I am looking forward to picking up the final Deadpool issue which is written by Daniel Way. It is bittersweet though because Way wrote Deadpool like he should be, off the wall crazy. But unlike what many people think, the comics still have a good central story. I am worried/curious to see how the new writers handle the character.

My FC is 1506 8504 1063

Pokemon Black team: The sixth spot is for whatever I feel like using at the time.

Looking for:

Pm me If you have any of these and I'll see if we can work something out.

My favorite Pokemon:

Shinies:

A man once told me I can't have my cake and eat it too. I then proceeded to eat not only my cake but his as well.

Just read the Ultimate Line from Marvel. I really recommend that for anyone trying to get into american comics and likes superheroes. Ultimates 1 and 2 will blow your mind if you do not spoil yourself. Ultimate Spider-Man is still one of the best runs on comics to date.
Red Hood is about Red Hood getting a band of misfits together to have awesome Sci-Fi Adventures. It's really just an acquired taste and not everyone will like it.

I've read:
American Splendor: Another Day
Superman: Emperor Joker
Darkwing Duck comics from BOOM! Studios
Invincible: Family Matters
The Death and Return of Superman Omnibus
Green Lantern Emerald Twilight - New Dawn
Batman and the Mad Monk
Bionicle
Bartman comics
Comics from Free Comic Book Day

What comics have I read EVER? Or recently? Because my cumulative comic collection over my life would be somewhere around 7000-8000 issues. Unfortunately, I lost the vast majority of those after college due to some personal problems in my family.

Nowadays I stick to buying collected trade volumes. Individual issues just cost too bloody much to buy on anything resembling a regular basis. Anyway, some of the best titles/runs I can remember in my list:

Savage Dragon (This title started going downhill around issue 100, but for a while, it was the best damn title available)

Hellboy (the movies aren't bad, bit they have VERY LITTLE to do with the books, which are not nearly as super-hero-ish as the movies would have you believe)

Ultimate Spider-Man (I quit reading when they killed Peter for good, but until then, this was the best title Marvel published in ages)

Uncanny X-Men, the entire Chris Claremont original run (covers about #100-#300)

Flash (my favorite era was the Geoff Johns/Scott Kolins era, which was about 160-200)

52 (the 52 issue mini series that DC had following, I think, Infinite Crisis)

Spectacular Spider-Man (the original J.M. DeMatteis run in the 80's-90's)

Kingdom Come (DC miniseries that not only got me back into comics after I'd quit for a few years in high school, but also got me into DC for the first time ever)

Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory (Long Halloween is better, but DV is the follow up, and both are damn good. I love Time Sale's eccentric art style)

If I put some thought into it, I can come back later with more.

Serebii FanFiction 2014 AwardsCo-Winner, Most Heartbreaking Story (Brothers' Bond)Co-Winner, Best Trainer Story (Brothers' Bond)Winner, Most Frightening Scene (Tales From The PokeDex)

Other:
Lenore
A lot of manga (I would mention them but people would have a cow here and no one posts in the manga section)

There's a bunch more I haven't gotten the chance to check out properly however, so this is a pretty small list.

I just got into superhero comics last year, though since then I already managed to mostly quit. I only currently read Batwoman and pick up the occasional trade of older stuff. (like the Impulse trade coming out next year)

I just got into superhero comics last year, though since then I already managed to mostly quit. I only currently read Batwoman and pick up the occasional trade of older stuff. (like the Impulse trade coming out next year)

Glad to hear I'm not alone.

Ooh, I forgot to mention the many of Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes (middle school phase) collections I have along with ever printed book of Herge's Tintin (grade school phase and they're all in French so if I ever lent them to you, I doubt you'd understand a word).

Mods, can you change the name of the thread to "The Comicbook Thread"?

Last edited by ParaChomp; 14th November 2012 at 3:02 AM.
Reason: Stan's Rants

Since my little thread was closed and it was so blatantly pointed out to me that another thread existed.

Little background on myself, I am a huge comic book fan. I blame my dad who bring home copies of comics with the covers ripped off for me to read.
Since I grew up overseas, not much besides X-Men, Batman and Spider-Man was available to me, so that's what I read.
When I moved to the States my comic book hobby exploded into an addiction, I was at the comic shop every weekend, had my bags and boards with my longboxes.
I dropped off the scene for a long time but re-reading some of Grant Morrison's JLA got back into it and I have been a DC guy ever since then.
Thankfully, Batman has had some great back to back writers and artists, with Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's Hush storyline being my absolute favorite. (Hence my name guys).

Anyway, where I live there I have found virtually no good shops and I know even fewer comic fans personally. So here is hoping we can discuss comics and topic relevant to the industry.

I am curious as to how the fans read comics nowadays? I have been seriously thinking about picking up a tablet to read comics. I have a bookcase full of trades from Marvel and DC (I am pretty much a superhero guy).

I went to DC (the place not the company) comic-con for the two years it appears to have existed. The first time I had to sit at the table as a specialguest the whole time, and the scond time it was really just a big dealer room.

As far as reading comics on a tablet, I don't do it, but from my experience the comixology app is pretty cool and instead of displaying it solely by page, it does it by panel/text box.

I have quite a few friends that read comics, but it's all batman or green lantern. It makes me feel a little wierd because I prefer the B and C listers myself. (Booster Gold, Iron Fist, Batwoman, etc.)

DC had a fairly decent idea with the New 52, but they BUTCHERED it in execution. To my understanding, the point of the new 52 was to reset history and make things new and fresh for new readers to jump right in. Instead of doing that, all they managed to do was make things convaluted and impossible to understand for CURRENT readers. If they needed to do a reboot, they should have done a REBOOT; just start everything over. I totally understand that'd mean losing popular characters like Tim Drake, Kyle Rayner, and Kon-El, but it's easier than trying to figure out where those characters all fit in to a universe that's only 5 years old. And the readers would be anxious to see how those characters all came back and affected the new reality. And past stories...which ones still exist? Which don't? Death of Superman? Blackest Night? Knightfall? Identity Crisis? 52? Instead of thinking about things like that, they were too wrapped up in taking away Superman's red panties and having him date Wonder Woman. The whole New 52 thing just seems like a HUGE failure to me, and I imagine that within 2 years, DC either has to do a new/better version of a reboot or they just go back to the old post-Crisis continuity.

Marvel meanwhile has just fallen into a stretch of REPEATED big events that all make each new one seem so pointless and minor. Civil War. World War Hulk. Secret Invasion. Siege. Fear Itself. X-Men vs. Avengers. I think in the last 5 years, Marvel has had exactly 8 months where they weren't in the middle of the latest OMG GIANT MEGA CROSSOVER EVENT! It's nice establishing all the characters live in the same universe and have to deal with the same things.... but these events used to be special because they were spaced so far out. And sometimes you just need a regular old three-issue arc where someone fights Stilt-Man.

Serebii FanFiction 2014 AwardsCo-Winner, Most Heartbreaking Story (Brothers' Bond)Co-Winner, Best Trainer Story (Brothers' Bond)Winner, Most Frightening Scene (Tales From The PokeDex)

If they needed to do a reboot, they should have done a REBOOT; just start everything over. I totally understand that'd mean losing popular characters like Tim Drake, Kyle Rayner, and Kon-El, but it's easier than trying to figure out where those characters all fit in to a universe that's only 5 years old.

Wait, what is it that says a "REBOOT" (all caps) has to involve completely getting rid of every modern-day iteration of a character? Is there a rule that says in a REBOOT, the former Robin, the former most recent Green Lantern of Earth (not anymore, though...) and the modern Superboy would all have to be gone? Why would those characters and those like them have had to get the axe in order to make it successful?

And in fact in some places, they did do exactly what you said. Wally West is, by all accounts, nonexistent right now, and that's a ticking clock as to how long it will take before they find some way to introduce him.

They've said most, if not all, of those major storylines still exist, even if their details didn't happen exactly the same way in the new continuity.

Originally Posted by Sid87

Instead of thinking about things like that, they were too wrapped up in taking away Superman's red panties and having him date Wonder Woman.

That's simply not accurate, to assume that they were more focused on the little things as you're accusing them. They have vast editorial departments for that very reason, who map out and plan out what affects what, why, when, where and how. We simply aren't privy to those resources.

Originally Posted by Sid87

The whole New 52 thing just seems like a HUGE failure to me

But it's not, really. Wasn't perfect, no, but "a HUGE failure" it was not either.

Originally Posted by Sid87

Marvel meanwhile has just fallen into a stretch of REPEATED big events that all make each new one seem so pointless and minor. Civil War. World War Hulk. Secret Invasion. Siege. Fear Itself. X-Men vs. Avengers. I think in the last 5 years, Marvel has had exactly 8 months where they weren't in the middle of the latest OMG GIANT MEGA CROSSOVER EVENT!

Well. Yes? They do a big crossover event more or less every summer. DC does much of the same, if you look at their recent publication history.

Originally Posted by Sid87

but these events used to be special because they were spaced so far out.

Wait, what is it that says a "REBOOT" (all caps) has to involve completely getting rid of every modern-day iteration of a character? Is there a rule that says in a REBOOT, the former Robin, the former most recent Green Lantern of Earth (not anymore, though...) and the modern Superboy would all have to be gone? Why would those characters and those like them have had to get the axe in order to make it successful?

It makes sense that if everything is starting over and brand new that there shouldn't be 7 Robins and 32 Green Lanterns and alternate realities of characters. And where do they fit in? Was Kyle ever in the JLA? Were Tim, Dick, and Jason all Robins in the span of 5 years? Was Superboy a clone of someone most the world didn't even know of yet? I'm not saying I WANT (and yes, I cap words where I would emphasize them where I speak; it happens) those characters gone--Tim and Kyle and Superboy are my three favorite DC characters--but it's the exact opposite of being accessible to new readers. I mean, proper reboots isn't exactly new territory for DC; they did it in the 80's with Crisis on Infinite Earths to erase decades of stories that contradicted each other. What DC did was basically say "We're doing a reboot, so buy all our stuff. But we're not actually rebooting anything at all".

And in fact in some places, they did do exactly what you said. Wally West is, by all accounts, nonexistent right now, and that's a ticking clock as to how long it will take before they find some way to introduce him.

So they did it to one character, yes, which is even more befuddling, really because why did Wally get shunted off, but readers were just left to wonder why/how/where everyone else who shouldn't be around yet goes? Well, Wally and Stephanie Brown, but very few people miss her (I do, but like I said...I used to love Tim's solo book).

They've said most, if not all, of those major storylines still exist, even if their details didn't happen exactly the same way in the new continuity.

And once again, what's the point of doing a reboot to get new readers if all your history is still there; you just made it more confusing. They basically just turned the entire DC universe into the running gag of how Hawkman's history is so muddled and confusing.

That's simply not accurate, to assume that they were more focused on the little things as you're accusing them. They have vast editorial departments for that very reason, who map out and plan out what affects what, why, when, where and how. We simply aren't privy to those resources.

So the New 52 makes complete sense and everything fits together perfectly, but they just don't want to tell anyone so that old readers are confused and new ones are bewildered? Sounds like a plan.

But it's not, really. Wasn't perfect, no, but "a HUGE failure" it was not either.

Well, from a critical standpoint, it's been a large failure. Sales have been sporadic; some titles have done really well and held strong, others were cancelled in short order and others still are hanging by a thread. So it depends how you look at it. The overwhelming reaction I have seen to it online has been negative, but sales haven't been bad at all.

Well. Yes? They do a big crossover event more or less every summer. DC does much of the same, if you look at their recent publication history.

Possibly. It seems less frequent there, but I guess they fell into it, too. Identity Crisis and Infinite Crisis and Blackest Night and what not.

No, not all of those are companywide - some are simply between the various titles of one character or family of titles - but a lot of them are, and they're anything but spaced out.

I take issue with a lot of those. Days of Future Past wasn't an EVENT. It was a really good story, but it was a self-contained two-issue arc. Torment? Who would ever consider that a huge event story? Invasion of the Spider-Slayers? But okay, let's keep them all and compare the last few decades:

1970's: 4 such stories
1980's: 17
1990's: 27
2000's: 49
2010-2012: 32

So... I'm pretty sure that actually proves my point. The 70's average a big event once every few years. The 80's averaged less than two per year. The 90's averaged less than three. The 2000's averaged about five. And the 2010's are averaging more than ten.

I do actually appreciate your support of the companies; I think the more comic fans the better, and everyone has their own tastes. I just don't feel either of the big two have been worth buying on a regular basis in ages.

Last edited by Sid87; 16th December 2012 at 1:10 AM.

Serebii FanFiction 2014 AwardsCo-Winner, Most Heartbreaking Story (Brothers' Bond)Co-Winner, Best Trainer Story (Brothers' Bond)Winner, Most Frightening Scene (Tales From The PokeDex)

I read and own majority of Sonic the Hedgehog comic books. Most of 'em are from Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna (and its mini-series), Tails mini-series, Sonic X, Sonic Universe, Super Sonic Specials, and. I have recently "restarted" on Sonic Archives and have yet to get my hands on Knuckles Archives and Princess Sally mini-series. I have already started on Megaman comic books.

For some reason, the artworks of Sonic comics have "degraded" since somewhere around late #140-ish. The best artwork was from #122-123 by Jay Axer (loves the way Sally Acorn knees Nack Weasel below belt). Tracey Yardley's/Steven Butler's artwork was acceptable, but I'd prefer Jay Axer's, Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante's, or Jon Gray's artwork. :/

My favorite plot-wise was centered around Mecha Madness where Mecha Sonic was fighting with Mecha Knuckles. Another was the way the original Dr. Robotnik ceased to exist in #50.

My BIGGEST DISAPPOINT of all was that Archie Comics may make a change to Sally Acorn's appearance (vest zipped up, spats on, and "whiskers" gone) once she is de-roboticized.

I have about 3 boxes of comic books from 1950's (they're cowboy-themed comic books) given to me by my mother's friend's husband.

Last edited by Flame Haze SnS; 16th December 2012 at 10:49 AM.

<Made by Flame Haze SnS>~Reincarnated from Dark Absol to Flame Haze SnS~To become a Flame Haze, one must be a vessel for the Lord of the Crimson RealmAnime Character Bishie: Shana from Shakugan no ShanaCurrently playing: Pokemon Sun (3DS XL) and Destiny (X-Box One S)